ELON MUSK'S FAVORITE MEME COIN: DOGE
What is Dogecoin?
Dogecoin (DOGE) is an open-source peer-to-peer cryptocurrency designed to send and receive digital payments processed through the Dogecoin blockchain network. Dogecoin was developed by software engineers Jackson Palmer and Billy Markus and launched in December 2013 as a decentralized cryptocurrency for instant payments. Dogecoin was created as a hard fork of Luckycoin, a Litecoin fork (LTC) that does not currently exist. As a fork, Dogecoin joined the cryptocurrency market with a reputation as a “joke coin” – a persona its loyal community has happily adopted. With no CEO or official body behind DOGE, Dogecoin is driven by enthusiastic supporters who have proven their loyalty over the years.
DOGE's user base is increasing year by year, driving up prices and pushing Dogecoin market cap to ever-higher levels. DOGE is mostly used for crowdfunding and tipping online content creators as a “lightweight” crypto asset. However, the list of merchants where it is accepted as a means of payment is growing.
Although DOGE was born as a meme, Dogecoin has become one of the top cryptocurrencies in terms of market cap with a 5000% return in 2021. It has been supported by millions of users, including notable supporters like Elon Musk and Snoop Dogg.
How Does Dogecoin Work?
Dogecoin is indirectly based on the code of Bitcoin, the first cryptocurrency. More specifically, it was created as a hard fork of Luckycoin, which was a hard fork of Litecoin (LTC) and is no longer on the market. Litecoin is recognized as the first hard fork created when it separated from Bitcoin. Dogecoin borrowed a Scrypt-based consensus mechanism from Litecoin. Thanks to this mechanism, DOGE shares many functions with Bitcoin and its hard fork “derivatives”. The use of Scrypt in Dogecoin's Proof-of-Work (POW) algorithm prevents miners from using ASICs - specialized equipment used in Bitcoin mining.
Just like Bitcoin, network participants of the Dogecoin blockchain use their computing power to secure the network and create blocks while validating transactions. The difference is that Dogecoin has a "lighter" architecture compared to Bitcoin, and thanks to this architecture, DOGE's transactions are processed faster. Dogecoin can be mined with computing power used by network participants to create new blocks and verify transactions by solving mathematical equations. With each block created, miners are rewarded with 10,000 DOGE.
Dogecoin creators Jackson Palmer and Billy Markus first designed the internet's most popular cryptocurrency with a maximum limit of 100 billion DOGE. However, the team removed this limit just a few months after launch. Dogecoin has had an inflationary supply generating 5 billion new DOGE each year after this monetary policy change.
Who are the Founders of Dogecoin? History of Dogecoin
The Dogecoin blockchain and the DOGE crypto that powers it were created by software engineers Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer. Billy Markus worked at IBM and Palmer was a software engineer at Adobe. The duo shared a vision of developing a fun, easy-to-use crypto that stands out from traditional (i.e., “boring”) banking systems, as well as enabling instant transactions with zero transaction fees.
Dogecoin's story began with the idea of creating a crypto that could be used by broader demographics compared to Bitcoin, and the first step was taken when Palmer purchased the domain name Dogecoin.com and created the project's official website. Along with the launch of DOGE and recording millions of transaction volumes in the first days of its launch, the official website also received the same number of unique visits.
Neither Palmer nor Markus took over the title of CEO after successfully launching the DOGE currency, and the role of the Dogecoin community became even more important to the network. The Dogecoin (DOGE) community is constantly showing off its strength, most notably by raising enough funds to cover the loss of millions of DOGE coins stolen in a hack attack on the now defunct Dogewallet project.
What Makes Dogecoin Unique?
Dogecoin has a unique take on marketing by presenting itself as a fun and friendly internet currency. Dogecoin was perceived as a “joke coin” when it was launched in 2013 and garnered millions of followers in the first month alone.
Unlike the countless cryptos and digital assets presented as ambitious and groundbreaking blockchain projects, Dogecoin took a much more mundane approach, but still offered desirable features such as near-zero fees, instant transactions, a strong but cheerful community, and non-competitive mining. Although Dogecoin shares similarities with both Litecoin and Bitcoin, its unique approach makes DOGE perfect for micropayments and an ideal and user-friendly internet currency for social media users, content creators, and sellers.
What Gives Dogecoin Its Value?
Dogecoin's value in the market is defined and determined by the balance of buying and selling activity that creates the Dogecoin price. A significant source of its value comes directly from the strong and supportive community that supports the project and the unique approach DOGE takes as a cryptocurrency created for internet-based payments.
Dogecoin value can also rise with confirmations, such as when Elon Musk tweeted about DOGE being one of the most interesting digital assets on the market. Following this, Dogecoin price skyrocketed and went “to the moon” as the investment community likes to say.
Dogecoin value and DOGE price can also follow major global trends that form the collective momentum of all cryptos in the market. DOGE price can fluctuate following aggregate trends, often led by Bitcoin, the most dominant cryptocurrency by market cap. DOGE's use case also plays a role in Dogecoin's value, as DOGE crypto is mostly used on social media platforms as an incentive to tip content creators and send and receive micropayments with almost zero transaction fees.
How Many Dogecoin (DOGE) Are in Circulation?
Initially, Dogecoin's total supply was limited to 100 billion. However, the developer duo changed Dogecoin's monetary policy shortly after DOGE's initial launch, removing the limit and creating an infinite inflationary supply.
There is currently No data [coin-short-pp] in circulation. It is estimated that the circulating supply will double within 26 years, and there is currently no hard limit for the total supply. Block creation occurs approximately every 1 minute and the mining reward is 10,000 DOGE.
Other Technical Data
Dogecoin is a cryptocurrency that uses a proprietary Proof-of-Work consensus algorithm on its ledger to enable instant payments. Dogecoin's coin price; It depends on trading activity, technical merit, mainstream usage, adoption, aggregate trends in the crypto market, and numerous other factors.
The Dogecoin network works similarly to the Bitcoin blockchain and many other altcoins such as Litecoin, in that all transaction data and block creation information is permanently written to the immutable blockchain. This decentralized system is designed to inherently prevent tampering with recorded data. The rules of the network are defined by the protocol and enforced through full nodes (miners) that are responsible for verifying each transaction on the network.
How to Keep the Dogecoin Network Secure?
The Dogecoin network depends on miners to secure the blockchain and verify transactions. PoW rules are implemented through full nodes, and miners work with computing power to solve mathematical equations. By solving an equation, a new block is created, transactions are verified and permanently recorded, and miners are rewarded with 10,000 DOGE.
How to Use Dogecoin?
Dogecoin is primarily used as an online blockchain-based currency for payments and instant transactions. Users can send and receive DOGE with their Dogecoin (DOGE) wallet in seconds and with minimal transaction fees. Dogecoin can also be used to tip creators and encourage content creation on the internet and social media networks. Dogecoin is perfect for microtransactions as it allows users to send and receive small amounts with near-zero fees.
Since the price of Dogecoin changes frequently, Dogecoin can also be used as a speculative investment.
How to Choose a Dogecoin Wallet?
The type of Dogecoin wallet you choose will likely depend on the amount of DOGE you have and what you intend to do with it.
Hardware wallets (aka cold wallets) like Ledger or Trezor offer the most secure option with offline storage and backup. However, they tend to be more expensive and difficult to use, so they are better suited to those who have large amounts of DOGE to store and more experienced users.
A simpler and often free option is software wallets. These can be downloaded to your smartphone or computer and may or may not be deposited. With escrow wallets, private keys are managed and backed up by the service provider on your behalf. Non-escrow wallets leverage secure factors on your device to store private keys. Software wallets are more convenient for making transactions, but are less secure than their hardware counterparts. So, it is more suitable for inexperienced users with smaller amounts of DOGE.
Finally, there are online wallets or exchanges known as hot wallets that can be accessed via a web browser. These are less secure than alternatives and require users to trust a platform to manage their DOGE coins. These types of wallets are suitable for those who hold small amounts of DOGE or trade frequently. Make sure you choose a service with strong security measures and a good reputation.
Kriptomat offers a secure storage solution that allows you to both store and exchange your DOGE tokens without hassle. Storing your DOGE with Kriptomat gives you enterprise-level security and user-friendly functionality.
When you choose our secure platform as your custody service, buying and selling DOGE or exchanging them for another cryptocurrency takes seconds.
Dogecoin Mining
The Dogecoin network operates on the Proof-of-Work protocol; This means Dogecoin can be mined like Bitcoin. Miners verify and validate transactions and protect the network from possible attacks and malicious actors. One Dogecoin block is produced every minute and the block reward is 10,000 DOGE.
Conclusion
Although Dogecoin started as a “joke coin,” it has quickly become one of the best cryptocurrencies on the market. Bearing the well-known and easily recognizable DOGE logo of the Shiba Inu, Dogecoin has returned nearly 5,000% in 2021 and has been adopted by celebrities such as Elon Musk and Snoop Dogg, sending the price of the coin to new highs.
Dogecoin was created as a fun and user-friendly digital currency that allows instant payments and low-cost transactions. No longer seen as just a joke, Dogecoin has built an incredibly strong and ever-growing community of users, supporters and promoters who praise DOGE for its simple and straightforward use.
I hope you have gained more information about DOGE coin thanks to my article. If you liked my article, do not forget to follow and like it.
